I’ve spent a lot of time pontificating here, discussing Varitek’s virtue and Manny’s malfeasance. For the final installment of the soapbox series, I present Pedroia’s principles for your consideration.

Generously listed at 5’9” and 180 pounds, Dustin Pedroia looks more like a high school math teacher or life insurance agent than an elite athlete. Despite the fact that he doesn’t possess any of the natural tools that scouts typically look for, the diminutive star has quickly become one of the best all-around players in the league.

Pedroia’s meteoric ascent to the top of his profession didn’t happen by accident. For much of his athletic life, Pedroia has encountered doubters. Outspoken and numerous, it would have been impossible for him to be oblivious of his critics. In the face of such adversity, most people would have eventually conceded that the odds were stacked against them and given up.

Not Pedroia. He figured out early on what could be achieved when criticism is converted into motivation. Through simple, old-fashioned hard work and sheer determination, Pedroia repeatedly beat the odds.

Having now attained a high level of success, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if Pedroia had decided to spend the offseason arranging a book deal for himself or making the rounds on the talk show circuit.

Not Pedroia. He’s busy working out in preparation for the coming season and taking nothing for granted. Pedroia realizes that the only significance the awards he won for his performance last year will have on the ’09 campaign is to provide opposing teams with incentive to neutralize him.

One of the few times Pedroia took a break from his offseason conditioning program was to travel to Boston to participate in the announcement of the six-year contract extension he signed with the Red Sox. During the press conference, Pedroia said two very significant things. He emphasized that his priority is winning and acknowledged that he traded the opportunity to maximize his value for long-term security (which distinguishes him from most of his contemporaries who merely pay lip service to winning).

By prioritizing his principles ahead of his paycheck, Pedroia gave hope to all of us who cling to the antiquated notion that baseball, specifically its employees, care about more than just making money.

The maturity, wisdom and confidence Pedroia exhibits are even more impressive when you consider that he was hitting a paltry .172 on May 1, 2007. It would be an oversimplification, as well as an insult to Pedroia, to explain that these attributes are the result of the amazing success he achieved over the course of the next eighteen months, a period in which he won the Rookie of the Year award, a Silver Slugger award, a Gold Glove, the MVP award, was voted an All-Star Game starter by the fans and helped lead his team to a World Series championship.

Rather, it’s much more likely that Pedroia’s inner certitude sustained him during his early struggles and propelled his ultimate triumph.

If one thing’s for certain, it’s that Pedroia is the antithesis of most modern athletes, celebrities and people in public life. Unremarkable and physically flawed, he’s completely devoid of a sense of entitlement and wholly averse to maintaining an entourage.

As the poisoning of our culture continues, and noxious, malignant values which glorify physical beauty, fame, wealth, immediate gratification and pursuit of self-interest take root, Pedroia serves as an important reminder that we have better options than Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt et al when it comes to choosing role models.

This column was written on January 31, 2009.